Kari Lee Townsend - Sunny Meadows 04 - Perish in the Palm by Kari Lee Townsend Page A

to mention Cole and Sean will have my head if anything happens to either of you. I only needed your help in convincing Mrs. Theodore to let me look around. Now that this might have to do with the murder, Morty and I can take it from here.”
    “Yeah, that’s not happening.” Jo ignored me and she unlocked her truck.
    “But…”
    “Don’t waste your breath, Sunny.” Zoe set her jaw. “You know Jo. Once she’s made up her mind about something, that’s that. Same for me. Let’s just say it runs in the family.” She winked, but her jaw was set as she climbed into the truck.
    I just stood there, numb. First Granny Gert and her fall harvest party and now the Amazon Twins thinking we’re all Morty’s Angels or something. I could feel a massive headache settling in already as I thought, What kind of mess have I gotten us into now ?

Chapter 10
     
    “ H ow are you doing, Mom?” I asked the next morning at Warm Beginnings and Cozy Endings Café.
    I sat across from my mother at a small, round, cast iron table, sipping hot cocoa and trying not to let the worry gnawing away at my insides show. The café was pretty empty this morning, but it would fill up soon I was sure. The smell of fresh bakes pastries was too hard for most normal people to resist. Then again, my size two mother wasn’t normal. She ate like a bird and never let me forget that I didn’t.
    “As well as can be expected, I suppose.” She sniffed yet still looked dainty and picked up her delicate china coffee cup, taking a tiny sip. She took a moment to set her cup down and dab the corners of her mouth. When she met my gaze, her eyes were as sharp and cunning as ever. “No need to worry about me, Sylvia. I’m tougher than I look. It’s my secret weapon. You of all people should know that.”
    What would normally rub me the wrong way actually made me breathe a sigh of relief today. “That’s good.” I sank my teeth in for a big bite of a chocolate frosted donut and moaned over how good it was.
    My mother’s perfectly plucked, golden blond eyebrow arched high, but she didn’t say a word. Instead she took a small bite of her dry wheat toast followed by a nibble of strawberry and another sip of espresso. “Now, that’s a cup of coffee.” She smiled in appreciation at the café owner Natalie Kirsch’s skills.
    I gave my mother credit for not outright speaking ill of the dead, but I could tell she wanted to. Natalie waved at us, and I sighed, suspecting my mother would trade me in for either Natalie or Jo if given the chance. I ripped off another big hunk of donut on purpose. A small bit of defiance that made me feel more like a child than vindicated.
    My mother’s lips parted as if she were about to make a comment, so I blurted with donut still in my mouth, “By the way, where’s Dad today?”
    “Fiona and Harry are back in town.”
    “Ahhh,” I replied, understanding perfectly.
    Fiona Atwater was Granny Gert’s arch nemesis and head of the Knitting Nanas who had recently become Granny’s best buddy, and Harry Dingleburg was a former judge and Fiona’s ex-recently-turned-present husband. My parents were fond of them both as they ran in the same circles back in the Big Apple.
    As for Granny, she was more like me and not on my mother’s good side either, ever since she’d permanently moved to Divinity to stay with me. My mother truly believed we conspired against her to purposely leave her out. We didn’t want to leave her out, we simply got along better. Granny Gert and I were kindred spirits. That was something my mother could never seem to get over.
    “Can you believe they came all the way here for your grandmother’s silly cheering up party?” My mother went on. “Like I need a party.” She scoffed. “I keep telling everyone I’m fine, but they insist on fussing over me anyway. They are here for me yet they won’t let me help, even though they clearly need it. The only right thing they did was get my cake lady to agree to